Survey Finds High Rates of Customer Abuse Against Retail Staff
A survey commissioned by workplace-safety firm Halos found that 48% of frontline retail workers in the U.S. and U.K. experienced customer abuse in the past year. Verbal abuse was most common at 34%, followed by threats or intimidation at 17%, and 27% avoided certain shifts due to safety concerns. Many workers said employers prioritized inventory safety over staff safety, and they favored banning abusive customers and stronger management support.
The Halos-commissioned poll covered frontline retail employees in the U.S. and U.K. Beyond verbal abuse, 16% reported discriminatory remarks or abuse and 10% reported physical aggression. When asked about remedies, 52% favored removing or banning abusive customers, while 44% wanted managers to back staff who enforce rules or refuse service.
The report notes Halos sells body-worn cameras, giving it a commercial stake in the issue. Separate data cited: an RWDSU member survey found 57% had faced verbal harassment or intimidation from a customer, coworker, or manager in the prior year; a 2025 Harris Poll for Verkada and the Loss Prevention Research Council found 35% felt unsafe at work, versus 27% in 2024.
The findings could heighten pressure on retailers to clarify policies on abusive customers and to show visible support for staff who enforce them. Frontline workers may feel more willing to report incidents, while shoppers could encounter stricter service-refusal or banning practices. Employers may also face greater scrutiny of how they balance inventory protection with employee safety, and safety-technology vendors could see more demand for monitoring tools.